Basseterre, St. Kitts (October 19, 2010) – This past weekend, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) elected St. Kitts & Nevis Minister of Tourism & International Transport, Senator Ricky Skerritt, as Chairman of the organization’s Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism. In his acceptance speech following his election victory, Skerritt announced that he was appointing St. Kitts Tourism Authority’s CEO, Rosecita Jeffers, to serve as the Chair of the CTO Board of Directors.

In this capacity, CEO Jeffers will be responsible for overseeing the meetings of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors acts as the Executive and Technical Advisory Body of the Organization. It is comprised of public and private sector representatives and is responsible for the overall direction of the activities and programs of the CTO. The Chair of the Board of Directors shall also serve as Chairperson of the Executive Sub-Committee, responsible for carrying out the duties of the Board of Directors. The Chair of the Board of Directors is appointed from the member country from which the Chairman of the CTO’s Council of Ministers & Commissioners hails.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me to become more actively involved in tourism leadership on a regional level,” said CEO Jeffers. “By performing the duties associated with chairing the Board of Directors, I hope to help advance tourism not just to the Caribbean as a whole, but also, as a result, to St. Kitts & Nevis.”

Both Minister Skerritt and CEO Jeffers will hold their positions for a 2-year term. The official vote by the CTO’s Council of Ministers took place during the CTO’s inaugural Leadership Strategy Conference held October 8-11, 2010 in Barbados.

The CTO, with headquarters in Barbados and marketing operations in New York, London and Toronto, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency and comprises membership of over 30 governments and a myriad of private sector entities. Its mission is to provide to and through its members, the services and information needed for the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of the Caribbean people. For more information, visit www.caribbeantravel.com or www.onecaribbean.org or connect with CTO on Facebook and/or Twitter.